analysts had contradicting that account. how could that happen? it took weeks for the white house to change the story to get all their ducks in a row. former u.n. ambassador john bolton is here on all that. bill: also the final faceoff between election, between now and election day is monday night. president obama and governor romney though, sharpening their knives and getting ready for the third and last debate, the last showdown before voters head to the polls. they had a few laughs last night, didn't they? martha: they were pretty funny, both of them. bill: good morning on a friday. i'm bill hemmer. martha: good morning. i'm martha maccallum. both sides are campaigning in critical swing states prepping for the big foreign policy debate that happens monday night. they had a little bit of fun last night. some people humor rouse jobs at themselves and others. that appeared at the new york city al smith charity dinner. >> i'm pleased that the

president is here. we were chatting pleasantly this evening as if tuesday night never happened [laughing] i credit that of course to the cardinal. he is, it's taken new york's highest spiritual authority to get us back on our best behavior. i was actually hope the president would bring joe biden along this evening because he will laugh at anything. [laughter] [applause] >> in less than three weeks voters in states like ohio, virginia and florida will decide this incredibly important election. which begs the question, what are we doing here? [laughter] bill: they will be in florida, soon enough. senior national correspondent john roberts in new york. >> reporter: good morning to you. a lot of fun last night a traditional moment every four years at least a couple hours political rancor is set aside in favor of comedy and charity. the tone is much different than the campaign trail particularly in tuesday

night's debate. the candidates singhed each other and themselves over many of the same issues. listen here. >> there is lot of things i learned from that experience. i learned that are worse things that can happen to you on your anniversary than forgetting to buy a gift. >> don't be surprised where the president talks about the monthly jobs report where there was slight improvement on the numbers. he knows how to seize the moment. he has a new campaign slogan. you're better off now more than four weeks ago. >> in 2008 i was attacked as a celebrity because i was so popular with our allies overseas. i'm impressed how well governor romney has avoided that problem. [laughter] >> president obama and i are each very lucky to have one person who is always in our corner, someone who we can lean on and someone who's a comforting presence without whom we wouldn't be able to go another day. i have my beautiful wife ann. he has bill clinton. [laughter]

>> president was a little more self-deprecating. governor romney was sharper. campaign said he spent a lot of time on the speech. it really showed a different side of him. not the stiff robotic candidate. bill: speaking of bill clinton, what was he doing yesterday? >> reporter: he was out in ohio in support of president obama. he seemed at one point to give romney a little bit after gift talking about the economy. one of the questions from tuesday night's debate. here it is. >> governor romney's argument is we're not fixed, fire him and put me in. it is true we're not fixed. when president obama looked into the eyes of that man, who said in the debate, i had so much hope four years ago, and i don't now, i thought he was going to cry. because knows that it is not fixed. >> reporter: republican national committee has an entire ad out now based on what the former president said. he went on to say depends on which path you believe in. he said he believes in

barack obama's path to fix the economy. snap poll of people taken after the debate sfwif higher remarks to mitt romney on that front. both candidates have one more campaign event between now and monday night's debate. president will be in george mason university. mitt romney in daytona beach for biketoberfest. both candidates know how much is riding on monday night's debate. they're hungering down. bill: we've never quite seen it that way from both sides. john roberts in new york. fox news is america's election headquarters, you know that at home. the candidates have one final debate monday night. it will happen in boca raton, florida. it will focus on foreign policy and a similar format to the first debate. megyn kelly, brit hume will have live coverage. 8:55 p.m. eastern, monday

night for the final round. martha: someone else who might have done a little more homework perhaps is vice president biden seems made another gaffe. he was speaking to union members in las vegas. he asked the crowd if anyone knew servicemembers overseas? >> i would be remiss if i didn't acknowledge at this time, which i tried to do all the time, haven't been in and out of began over 20 times. my son having served a year in iraq, i want to tell you something, man, the sacrifices, how many of you know someone who served in iraq or iran? martha: harry reid raised his hands. american troops are not in iran. american troops are fighting in iran and afghanistan as well. both campaigns spending a lot of time in this state. it is nevada of course. the swing state is worth six electoral votes. early voting there begins this saturday. bill: also, early voting underway in the swing state of north carolina.

election officials there already seeing long lines in areas and predicting large turnouts before election day. have a listen here. >> took about an hour and 15 minutes. >> about 35 minutes. >> it was going faster than what it looked. >> this is popular with voters. i think that is one reason we're probably see over half of our ballots cools during early voting for the entire election. bill: that is so interesting. north carolina you can vote until november 3rd. vote early that is. early voting in full swing in 22 states including critical battleground states of north carolina, ohio, and iowa. martha: vice-presidential nominee paul ryan was in the critical swing state of florida. congressman ryan blasting the obama administration over their spending policies. >> he wants another round of stimulus spending. yeah. the last one didn't work out so well. a lot of money went to political cronies. a lot of money went to special interests. the money was borrowed, half of it from countries like

china. look where we are right now, deeper into debt. we can't keep going down this path. if you want to see what this movie looks like at the end of this movie, go home, turn on the tv, and look at europe. if you want to have results like europe, you copy european policies. guess what? we don't want to have european results. we want america to be america the exceptional country, the land of the free, home of the brave, the land of the american dream. that means leadership. martha: florida's going to get a lot of love and attention over the next couple of days. later governor romney will join his running mate on the campaign trail. they're holding a rally in daytona beach with country music star john rich and vice president biden also in florida this morning, both campaigns competing for the huge 29 electoral votes that florida has. 18 days to go, folks. we have this fox news alert for you now. there is new fallout from

the failure of an electric car battery maker that got nearly $250 million in taxpayer-backed loans. two companies are fighting to buy a123 systems a a rock-bottom price and one of those companies is from china it turns out. stuart varney, anchor of "varney & company" on the fox business network of course. good morning, stewart. what is going on here? >> it is a bidding war. a123 systems makes car batteries for electric cars subsidized by the american taxpayer. it has gone bankrupt. there is bidding war for control of the company and its assets. in one corner, johnson control, that is american company from milwaukee. in the other corner a chinese company. they're standing in front of a bankruptcy judge we'll pay x number of dollars for control and assets of a123. for a second, martha, think what it looks like if, if the chinese company were to win this winning battle. that means a chinese company

takes control of an american green company, very much part of president obama's green energy policy and it will bontrol of that company which has been subsidized by the american taxpayer to the tune of $250 million. that is a double blow to president obama's green policy, if the chinese were to win. martha: there go american tax dollars to backing that company i should say. that money would never be seen again? >> that would not be popular. that would be a political blow. if the american company wins control it is a single blow to the obama energy program because it would be this bankrupt company sold for pennies on the dollar at the expense of the american taxpayer. martha: interesting. a good argument some might say for private enterprise picking winners and losers. good to see you, stuart. bill: similar topics. electric car battery maker a123 is one of two companies filed for bankruptcy and in return for funding from the 2009 stimulus act t promised

to create 38,000 u.s. jobs including 59,000 at its own plant. since taking office the obama administration clean energy and clean jobs investments cost taxpayers nearly $100 billion. martha: ouch. bill: that won't come up on monday night or will it? who knows which way they will go. that's why we watch. martha: china angle perhaps. bill: could be getting started a group of cheerleaders score a legal victory in fight to use banners with bible verses. war of words far from over here. we'll tell you why. martha: three days to go, everybody before the third and final showdown between president obama and governor romney. mike huckabee on what each candidate needs to do on monday night to win voters. bill: new information who knew what and when regarding libya. how we're learning the top cia official in libya knew within hours that the u.s. had been hit by terrorists on 9/11. >> the security in benghazi was a struggle and remained a struggle throughout my time there. the situation remained

uncertain and reports from some libyans indicated it was getting worse. diplomatic security remained weak. in april there was only one u.s. diplomatic security agent stationed there. or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today. who emailed it to emily, who sent it to cindy, who wondered why her soup wasn't quite the same. the recipe's not the recipe... ohhh. [ female announcer ] ...without swanson. the broth cooks trust most when making soup. mmmm! [ female announcer ] the secret is swanson.

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martha: everybody, we've got some new video just in of a massive blast in lebanon's capital city of beirut. [sirens] [shouting]. martha: too much unrest in the middle east. look at that scene! it was a loud boom. black smoke seen rising above the streets of central beirut. stayed media reporting the massive explosion was a car bomb and there are casualties. witnesses saw ambulances racing to the scene. so far no word who was behind the blast. lebanon has seen an increase in fighting in recent months as the civil war there rages

next door in syria. bill: the topic will be foreign policy, which looked like it would take a back seat to the economy until a terrorist attack on september 11th in benghazi. governor mike huckabee, host of "huckabee" on the fox news channel. good morning to you. >> good morning bill. bill: we have a lot of experience in this debate stuff. this is the third and final round. how does mitt romney go after this? >> i think he has to go into it aggressively but has to make sure the president answers the question he never really got around to answering on the debate in libya. they got all into the words what he used in the rose garden and what it meant. that is the not issue. the issue for almost three weeks, the president, his press secretary, the secretary of state, the ambassador all continued to spill out a narrative that was not true and they knew it wasn't true. he has got to push back on that. bill, i think hes that to do one other thing. he has to show this is not just about benghazi. this is pattern.

this administration never called what happened at fort hood terrorism. it is never accepted the fact that what happened in little rock with associating of the soldier by radicalized young islamic was terrorism. so he has to push for the answer, why can't this administration acknowledge what everyone else can see. bill: that is an interesting point. based on the first two debates, it is quite likely these guys will pose these questions to one another yet again. that's what we saw this past week. >> they really mix it up. the moderator was more of a traffic cop but, i think one of the problems that happened in that debate was she became a participant, not just a moderator. i think bob schieffer will probably play more the moderator role. his senior status he may step in, say, gentlemen, let's get back to the question and not try to inject himself. bill: points about fort hood and little rock are well-taken. we wonder whether or not americans are remember that

and if it comes back again and serves as a reminder. talk about how the two men are treating each other in the arena. you remember 12 years ago when al gore got into george bush's space, people talked about that for 12 years. that decided election. on tuesday night they were sumo wrestlers compared to 12 years ago in the ring. >> sad thing it was supposed to be a the town hall about the people in that room. they were essentially i would say photo-ops and props. they weren't really being utilized. both candidates missed the opportunity to ignore the candidate that was opposing them and to speak very much to the heart of that person who asked the question, which meant they would have been speaking to the hearts of the american people watching. they missed that opportunity. bill: you're saying that was mistake for both men? >> huge mistake. this is not about fighting each other. nobody cares that you can scream at your opponent and interrupt them what they want to know can you speak to me, look me in the eye and talk to me about my

concerns. they were so busy fighting each other they weren't fighting for the ought yen. i think that was a mistake on both their parts. bill: you were arguing had the president or governor done that they would have been a clear winner? >> i think so. i think if they would have smiled, we'll get to that, but just look straight on, walk over to the person that asked the question, talk to that person int natalie, closely, -- intimately, closely, emotionally with pauses in a thoughtful way. that would have contrasted with the more combative style of the other. it would have been a winning formula. bill: you're a master in

>> governor thank you. great to have you on. check you out this weekend. >> thanks, bill. bill: mike huckabee here in new york. catch the governor saturday and sunday night, 8:00 eastern time right here on the "fox news channel." thanks. martha: an investigation into possible voter fraud in a critical swing state after claims that some people voted twice. we've got the latest in that investigation. bill: also check this out. new video of a massive dust cloud blotting out the sun. you have to be pretty big to do that. ♪ ♪

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bill: there is a search underway at the moment for a missing woman in ore fon. police in oregon looking for 21-year-old whitney heichel. her husband reported her missing after she failed to show up for work at starbucks. he said that morning everything appeared to be normal. >> she is beautiful. she is ball of energy. she got ready, normal thing. got up and kissed me good-bye, woke up, bye, see you when i get home. then she left and i fell back asleep. then, you know, nothing

until, just figured it was normal. then about 8:15 her boss called me, just starting basically and it is too bad, hopefully nothing bad has happened but. bill: hours after whitney was reported missing police found her car abandoned near her home with the passenger side window smashed and there was mud on the tires. that mystery continues. martha: absolutely. an investigation is now underway into possible voter fraud in the battle ground state of florida after claims that several people previously voted in more than one state in the same federal election. steve harrigan joins me in miami. so, steve, where is this going? >> reporter: martha, it is coming from a watchdog organization that turned over 36 names to florida state officials. 36 people they claim have voted in two different states at the same time in a previous federal election. right now florida officials say there is enough evidence so far on just two of those cases to turn it over to law

enforcement. they will continue to review the other names they have been given. martha: so what makes florida so susceptible, steve, to double voting? >> reporter: well, first the stakes are so high here being a swing state but a couple of other factors have raised concerns. a number of people have second homes in florida and could take advantage of absentee balloting. but the real big, underlying concern is the fact that florida, unlike about 20 other states, is not a part of any national database on voter registration, martha. martha: yeah. so many people, moved to florida from someplace else. that certainly presents that possibility. steve, thank you very much. keep an eye on it. bill: so the president's health care law is under fire. why a key republican argues there are hidden costs in it for every american family. we'll have that for you. martha: and the terrorist attack in libya, new questions about what the white house knew and when. ambassador john bolton will answer. >> so when i requested resources, when i requested

assets, instead of supporting those assets i was criticized and somehow it was my responsibility to come up with a plan on the ground and not the responsibility for ds. i raised that specific point in a meeting with the ds director in march, that 60 days, there was no plan. and it was hope, that everything would get better. 0t[7

martha: there are new reports that are raising more questions over the white house's handling of

the deadly attack on our consulate in libya. first the associated press reporting that within hours of that attack, the cia station chief, in libya, said that he believed that it was indeed the work of terrorists, within hours of the attack. second, intel sources telling "the wall street journal" before ambassador susan rice publicly said that the attack was sparked by a spontaneous protest, analysts had information that contradicted that account. so raises it once again, why she would go on national television on five stations and, and stick with that narrative. joined by john bolton, former ambassador to the u.n. and fox news contributor. good morning. always good to have you with us. >> glad to be with you, martha. martha: let's start with the new information about the cia station chief in libya. what does that tell you? >> well i think it confirms what we know already that the people on the ground understood this was not a demonstration that had

gotten a little frisky. they were under armed attack as they had been before. it was clearly something that only a terrorist group could put together. and i think that that, really, was something that the administration knew in realtime. they had testimony that the security people in benghazi were on cell phones back to the state department. so i think the notion that this was an out of control demonstration was false from the get-go. martha: you know there is a lot of reporting right now about ahmed katalla of ansar al-sharia. that he was there that evening in benghazi. apparently, according to sources that are reported by "the new york times", they say that he was took no part in it. they're also now reporting he was seen sipping mango juice or something in a hotel in libya over the course of the last 24 hours. what do you make of all that? >> well i think it's a demonstration we really don't have a handle on who conducted the attack. you know there is a lot of leakage as is customary from

the administration about retaliation that may follow sometime in october, no doubt, before the election. but, i think the handling both of the security requests before the attack, and how the post-attack operations have been handled have been very badly bungled. unfortunately it is a tragic demonstration of how the president's entire world view about the middle east has come under glued. martha: it seems to me that the to some extent if you felt at all uncomfortable, if you were in the administration you felt uncomfortable about the way it was handled initially. you make it very clear to the american people that the investigation is ongoing. obviously you can't share certain details about that. you could potentially hear from john brennan, for example, other people who are very high up in this operation who are supposed to be watching over counterterrorism activities around the world that would give people some reassurance what is happening to the avenge the deaths of these four american citizens.

>> right. i think the problem at issue here, some say of course there's a cover-up going on and the administration is lying. i'm afraid there is actually a more disturbing explanation. again, both before the attack, the denying the request for enhanced security and after the attack that the president's ideology put a screen over his consciousness. when the real world tries to intrude on it can't get through. after all the war on terror is over. the al qaeda is defeated. arab spring brought democracy to libya. a terrorist attack that brutally kills four americans is wildly inconsistent with that ideology and that world view. the president can't process reality and his aides can not get through to him. that does not speak well about our prospects for the next four years if he is reelected. martha: strikes me reality may break through to some extent. >> certainly is. martha: there is story in the "washington post" this morning about the request for more drones, to increase

the number of drones so they could potentially become more active in the areas in north africa. we have a map that shows this area of concern. we had kt on yesterday. she was taking about how al qaeda exists in 30 countries, some which you can't see on this map. does that request for more drones in north africa tell us what? >> if the war on terror is over you could have fewer drones because there's going to be less demand for it. i think this is a clear indication that the people who actually have to make decisions about security issues under stand indeed the al qaeda threat and threat of terrorism generally continues to grow and the war is a long way from over. i will say this the drone capability is an outstanding achievement of american technology but the use of drones doesn't amount to a strategy. it's a, it's a weapon. it is a tactical device and i think that more at the heart of the administration's problems since it thinks the war on terror is over, it does not

have a comprehensive strategy to deal with it, not in libya, not in yemen, not in afghanistan, not in a lot of other places either. martha: when you look at the world, one last question, with regard to monday night what is the most important foreign policy question needs to be asked monday night? >> more importantly, america's place in the world the do you believe peace and international security is enhanced by a strong american presence that provides stability and protects our domestic way of life, or you think the obama theory a declining america is a safer america is the right answer? i have my views on that subject but i think that is the clear question. martha: all right. ambassador bolton, always good to speak with you. we'll see what happens after the debate. we'll talk to you then. thank you, sir. >> thank you, martha. martha: coming up tonight bret baier hosts "special report", investigates, death and deceit in benghazi. that is tonight 10:00 p.m. eastern time. it breaks down the whole timeline of events here. bret goes very much in depth

to talk to lieutenant colonel woo who testified in front of congress a week ago. bill: wood knows his tough. did a terrific timeline trying to piece it together. so we can follow it along with them. showdown over the president's health care law. why a key republican argues there may be hidden costs masked until after the election day and why that could be significant in the end. martha: a judge ruled these high school cheerleaders find out if they can use bible verses on their game banners this weekend. we'll be right back. it's a new way to get cash back deals, and it's called bankamerideals! i sign into my online banking... click the "cash back deals tab"... and pick the deals i want. i just use my bank of america debit or credit card when i pay, and then i get up to 15% cash back -- put into my account. ♪ i know, right? [ male announc ] introducing bankamerideals, free for online banking customers.

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martha: legal victory for a group of texas high school cheerleaders in their fight to use bible verses on banners at football games. a judge has granted an injunction that would allow them to continue that for now at least. football season is just a few more weeks. the girls are suing after the freedom from religion group told the school district they were in they were breaking the law for

allowing those banners. the girls say it is about freedom of speech. >> we're thankful. >> worth going to court? >> i think it is because it is the word of god and that is worth a lot. >> students have the right to freely express their religious viewpoints in every school district. >> i respectfully disagree with what the judge has done but i think the judge did give us a fair hearing. martha: legal fight in this one is far from over. a trial, a trial, they're going to have for this. it is scheduled for june next year. they had one banner that said, god is for us who can be against us. and the other side, said we won't have a game. bill: football in that state is huge. martha: very important. bill: that story means a lot down there. the gauntlet has been thrown down. the house oversight committee chairman planning to issue a subpoena today, this morning in fact for health department documents on a program he claims, darrell issa claims, is being used to hide the effects of the president's health care law for seniors.

why would that be, 2 1/2 weeks away from an election? here is congressman issa with neil cavuto just yesterday. >> in other words this special project will backfill hundreds of billions of dollars a year worth what the obamacare took out of medicare is in fact a little ploy to get around appropriations and get around admitting that obamacare is defunding medicare advantage and other programs. bill: so the point he is making there is quite obvious. now florida congressman john mica is republican and also sits on the house oversight and government reform committee. sir, good morning to you. thank you for coming back and joining our program here. >> good to be with you. we are facing a little bit of bait and switch from the administration just before the election on health care. bill: let me, let me go to the point that issa is making here. he says these documents are designed to, well, what they will uncover they're designed to buy the election. that's a heavy charge. what about that? >> well, unfortunately, i

think, we are correct in what we found so far in our committee and what chairman issa is asking for today in documentation. what's happening is as parts of the obamacare plan are going into effect, and to mask some of the cuts in programs like medicare advantage, what they're doing is shifting money around so cuts that would have come into play, we started the fiscal year, october 1st, they're taking money, appropriated money, shifting in so seniors who are on medicare advantage won't see the damage that's going to be done. so even gao has said that this is not, they, they determined it a demonstration project. it is just a ploy to fool seniors who are going to have to face these cuts. bill: this is a lot of money here. i read $8 billion in one area. i read more than 200 billion in another. what is it? >> okay.

8 billion is what they're shifting right now. you know to pay for this multitrillion dollar obamacare, they had to cut medicare. you know, people talk about plans and what folks are going to do, particularly on our side of the aisle. this is already done. this is in law. but to finance this health care monster, you're going to have to take 700 million out, and you can, you can go 100 million here or there, out of medicare. medicare advantage over 10 years gets a trim of $200 billion. this is the first, and again, all of these things phase in. this is the first phase-in of biting into medicare advantage, which, 11 million of our seniors are on. gives them some choice and some opportunities, and you know, decisionings on their health care but they don't --. bill: what you and others charge is that seniors aren't even aware of this yet. >> absolutely.

education purposes --. bill: i got it. i'll get to that in a second here. but medicare advantage is used by seniors for what? >> well, it's an alternative again, to the strict guidelines, if you're on the medicare plans, you have strict constraints of what you do. medicare advantage was set up to give some choice, some competition, to let seniors decide more about what kind of health care plans, et cetera, they want, and services they want. now the, whole obamacare is just the opposite. it's to try to actually, eventually i think it is to wipe out most of medicare. they're trying to wipe out tricare for our military because they just proposed huge increases in --. bill: why would that be? if you're right on that, what would that lead to? >> one health care plan for the country. that is my personal opinion. but when you destroy medicare advantage, which is an option to, you know, the just the medicare coverage that most folks have, that's

giving 11 million seniors a choice, destroy that program. now they took, they are taking out $200 billion over 10 years. they're just sticking in about 8 billion, we think. we're trying to get the documentation. but what they have done is to not let the seniors and the public know how bad this is going to be. and gouging out either medicare or medicare advantage, or jacking up the price for tricare for the military. it is a political decision there. bill: they're puttinstuff off. what hhs argues, sir, this is demonstration project and they run demo projects all the time. do you buy that? >> not the republicans or the house committee has said, that you know, we're not coming up and saying that this is not a demo project. the general accounting office says looked at it already, this is where we got some of the tip-off,

you're shifting huge amounts of money, thwarting intent of congress actually a law dem crassed passed obamacare and masking it. this is not a demo. this is a political ploy to give them some time so that the public and seniors don't know what is coming. bill: you're arguing delayed this program, seniors don't know about it and that gets you votes? >> absolutely, if seniors could see what is really going to happen, the first bites, this is all phased in. they're starting taxes early. bill: in 2014 everything kicks in. we're two years away from that. >> exactly. bill: on the subpoena issue specifically will we get movement today and does that move the story forward in time for what you're arguing is an election 2 1/2 weeks away? >> well again, they dumped documents that are just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo. we get it from the administration. we got it on "fast and furious." now we're getting this on this issue.

we will subpoena back chairman issa whatever it takes. that is our job. we're supposed to be protecting the public interest and conducting oversight of these programs. bill: understood. >> here you see, again, real political ploy just before the election. bill: we'll see where this goes. john mica, thank you for your time today. austin, texas. >> good to be with you. martha: california family is turning some heads and getting a few laughs out there with some very unusual halloween decorations. take a look at this. you got to look closely to figure out what is going on. the scarecrow is mooning the neighbors. wait for it. bill: no, come on. martha: with a pumpkin for his behind. that looks like his head. aunt visiting from indiana specializes in decorations. there we go. she thought it was cool idea. i get it. thought it was cool. listen. >> we thought it would be like a fun thing to put up for a decoration for halloween.

martha: some neighbors didn't care for of the scarecrow's lack of inhibitions. others get a bit of a kick. you know what i think? bill: what's that? martha: what i hate are really grotesque, disgusting halloween decorations with limbs hanging from trees and everything. i will take that. bill: points for creativity. i get it. pumpkin behind. martha: all right. day quickly turning to night as a dust storm overtake as busy oklahoma highway. it caused a chain of reaction crashes. you can't see much because they couldn't see much. more of that later. bill: two down, one to go, america. neck and neck in the race for the white house. could all that change on monday night? the previous view of the final round up, the final matchup between president obama and governor romney. [ male announcer ] this is steve.

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bill: here is a chain reaction traffic nightmare northwest of tulsa. car after car colliding into one another because of a dust storm in near blackout conditions as you see here. man that's tough to get through. 30 vehicles were involved. visibility for drivers, less than 10 feet away. thankfully no one lost their life but 16 injuries came out of this. the accident shut down an eight mile stretch of highway for several hours there in oklahoma. martha: an update now on doctors treating a pakistani teenager who was shot by the taliban on her school bus. say that she is making a remarkable recovery. we're told that she can now

stand with help and is even communicating again. amy kellogg is following this story for us. she is live in london. malala has had an incredible recovery what many people thought she could not recover, amy. so what's the latest? >> reporter: we were all just so pleasantly surprised this morning, martha, i have to say. we didn't expect it would all go this quickly. she is not actually able to speak of course because she had a tracheotomy, there was swelling in the throat due to damage from the bullet so they had to put a pipe in her throat. doctors think the pipe will be out in a few days and she will be able to speak. for now she is writing and doctors put it, she is communicating freely. doctors say there has been brain damage but they don't see any real deficits in her faculties at this point. she has a damage from the bell lit area. they are trying to keep it under the control. they say edge. forest but not out of the

woods. doctors are saying, martha, that she could in fact make a full recovery, martha. martha: boy, wouldn't that be the best revenge, members of the taliban who wanted to silence here because she speaks out for young girls. the importance of education. she was on the way to the school bus when the taliban members boarded that bus and shot her. does she understand all that? does she remember any of that about what happened? >> reporter: this is interesting, martha. she knows where she is. the first question she asked, which country am i in? so she is believed to understand why she is in the united kingdom. she has made it known that she is very appreciative of all the support she's received. so she has given, passed along thanks to all the people who sent her well-wishes. the doctors don't want to ask her, they don't want to probe or talk about what happened right now because they're experience from dealing with war wounded from places like afghanistan they say it is not always in the patient's best interest to talk about their trauma

right away. >> it is too early to start going into that. we know from a lot of work we've done with military casualties we know reminding people of traumatic events in it stage increases the potential for psychological programs later so we wouldn't do that. >> reporter: and importantly, martha, malala herself asked details of her medical condition be passed along. we expect the next few weeks to be quite slow in terms of any tangible progress. they hope in couple weeks for her to recover to undergo skull reconstructive surgery she needs to undertake as well. her family is not here yet. we're waiting for more about any arrangements they have to come over. martha. martha: very brave young lady. a story everybody needs to know. amy, thank you very much. bill: we're learning new details on the attack in libya. why military sources telling fox news this might have been part of a much larger plot in the country. we'll explain. martha: vice-presidential

nominee paul ryan saying president obama wants a second term but hasn't told anybody what he would do with it. our panel debates that. tell me what you think about it. send me a tweet @marthamaccallum. we'll be right back. i'm only in my 60's...

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you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral. see why millions of people have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. don't wait. call now. martha: we start with this fox news alert. dramatic new details suggesting the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi may have been part of a broader campaign to drive the u.s. out of eastern libya. more on that as we welcome you to a second hour this morning of "america's newsroom." i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. authorities telling fox news several western tar go came under threat in the benghazi area prior to the attack last month, which could indicate a pattern. martha: peter doocy eugs here live from washington.

what led authorities to think it could be part of a larger pattern. >> reporter: back on june 6th three months before the attack that killed ambassador stevens and three other americans someone planted an ied in the ledge of the consulate in benghazi. officials tell us that attack was designed to measure the security team's response time, another part of this pattern was another attack on another western target, the british ambassador's convoy. after that convoy was hit with an r-rb rpg the british withdrew from the area. there was an attack on the red cross. and they say the militant's message to the west is get out. >> i don't think they want the western influence there, i think they said, you're unwelcome go away, and therefore when we go in, when we are unwelcome i think we can expect rough treatment. >> reporter: that rough treatment from the libyan militants has been bolstered by a lot of weapons in libya that have been easier to come by

since moammar qaddafi fell including portable surface to air missiles, martha. martha: a lot of speculation that that is exactly what the two former seals were looking for, they were trying to round up exactly those weapons. what is the datess on the hunt for these terrorists who carried out the deadly raid in benghazi that night, peter. >> reporter: we know that there is a short list of possible commander's of the attack and -pt leadeof the leader of an shar al sharis was on it. they won't confirm that. they caught up with him and he said he was trying to break up a traffic jam at the consulate and was participating in the raid but the attack was tied to the anti-islamic video and members of his group are good people with good goals which are trying to implement islamic law.

sources say just because he's with that group does not mean that al-qaida was not involved as well, martha. martha: very interesting, we'll see where that goes. thaopbg you very much. bill thank you very much. bill: fox news alert. a passion tphal plea to the whitpassionate plea to the white house to have the fort hood shooting decared a terrorist attack. this is in a new video. the government class need the attack in 2009, november of that year as workplace violence. that means that injured soldiers are not eligible for the purple heart and the families of those killed are not receiving the same benefits as those killed in combat. that is something this video aims to change. >> put all politics aside, let's deal with the real case and the real case it was discovered, has been discovered, rediscovered that this was part of a terrorist activity. bill: should the government then declare the fort hood shooting a

terror attack and if not why not? closer look at that coming up straight ahead here. foreign policy at the forefront as we gear up for the third and final presidential debate. this one could be a big game changer coming two weeks before election today. we saw what happened in round one. now we move to round 3. senior white house foreign affairs correspondent wendell goa goler here. how do we expect th the governor to challenge the president on foreign policy. >> he will accuse him of not being tough enough on iran or china and not being tougher on the rebels trying to overthrow bashar al-assad. he'll accuse him that being slow to admit thest attack at the u.s. consulate in benghazi libya that claimed the lives of ambassador chris stevens and three other americans. in tuesday's debate that prompted a controversial exchange with moderator candy crowley. in general governor romney will

say that mr. obama has squanderd america's leadership in the east. >> syria is not just the tragedy of 30,000 civilians being killed by a military but also a strategically significant player for america. the president's policies throughout the middle east began with an apology tour and pursue a strategy of leading from behind, and this strategy is unraveling before our very eyes. >> reporter: governor romney will almost certainly repeat the ronald reagan foreign policy mantra, peace through strength. bill: how about president obama respond to all of that. >> reporter: i think he'll challenge governor romney what he'd do specific differently especially in iran. he will site israel's defense

minister's assertion that no u.s. administration has been more supportive. he will say he's been tougher on china's trade practices as any of his presented today ses oers. predecessors. he'll say he delivered on the foreign policy promises he made as a candidate. >> four years ago i said we'd end the war in iraq and we did. i said we'd end the war in afghanistan and we are. i said we'd phoning us on the terrorists that attacked us on 9/11 and we have and osama bin laden is dead. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: the president has held a wide lead on foreign policy in polls but that has narrowed substantially in recent days. bill: thank you. from the state department there. martha: for more on what to expect in the third and final presidential debate which happens monday night we welcome chris wallace. the anchor of "fox news sunday" good to see you. >> good morning. martha: when you take a look at

the two gentlemen i was fascinated to see them yuck it up in their white ties. what do you expect after having seen two debates will happen on monday night. >> i'm happy both will be seated. they aren't going to be at two different poed kwrupls but the dave podiums. but they will be seated at the table with a moderator. they may get to each other's grill but they won't be able to get in each other's face, which may be a good idea. martha: we had mike huckabee on a while ago and he said mitt romney needs to hold the president's feet to the fire so to speak on the narrative that unraveled from the white house with regard to libya. do you think we get more meat on the bones monday night. >> i'd be shocked if we didn't. the most important question is the question that the fella kerry latka asked which neither of them answered, his original

question was, why didn't you do more, to the president, beforehand. you actually could have saved somebody's life to provide more security. there were clearly a lot of warnings that benghazi was a very different place and they needed more security there. the president didn't answer that. i don't think anyone thinks that the president of the the united states decides the security detail, but there seems to be a sense that the president wanted to normalize relations, say libya was a safe place when in fact it wasn't. i expect p him to g him to go over that and i expect romney to be very critical on that subject. it will be interesting as to what the president sphopbdz as tpresident responds as to what he knew before with regard to benghazi. there had been an attack back in june. martha: it's what you say the way they wanted to present that area, success and failures to the whole world. let's take a look at the polls. this is the latest poll that

takes a look at iowa, and this has the president up by a strong margin, 51-43. wisconsin next up here this also shows the president ae ahead. i've seen other polls that show wisconsin very tight. the gallop poll has the president up by 7. what do you think about that. >> i think one of those is wrong. i don't which one of those it is. i find it hard to believe that romney is leading by seven points and the president is leading in wisconsin. gallup is the granddaddy of all the polls. we are h going to try to make sense of the polls, the national polls and swing state polls.

it's increasingly possible where you could have a situation like 2000 where one guy wins, frank newport that had a gallup, where you had one guy win the popular vote like gore did and the one guy wins the electoral vote because he wins in swing states. i doubt that will happen because it's hard to build that kind of scenario but it is possible and you're seeing that conceivably play out with obama's lead in the swing states and romney's lead in the national poll. it is looking increasingly like romney has won, or is going to win in the southeast, in the swing states of florida and north carolina, and virginia, and when i talked to the top obama people they are not talking about the midwest as their fire wall, and it's the three states of ohio, iowa, and wisconsin, that's their fire wall, and if they could win all three, then they win. if they start to lose those states then romney will be the next president. martha: i can't think of a

better way to get ready for monday night than to watch "fox news on sunday. martha: he will have senators dick durbin and lindsey graham. check your listings what time "fox news is on in your town. bill to you. bill: big focus on the state of florida and there are so many votes down here in the southeastern part much the states and electoral votes too in florida. back in 2008 barack obama was the winner in the sunshine state. he beat senator mccain by 3 minutes, 51-48%. where do you go whether you're a tkepl charlott democrat or republican to win votes. where do you find folks to support you in general in the southeast. these are blue counties around miami, heavily democratic in the southeast. republicans win the panhandle with the one sepg exception of tallahassee. between here and the northwest,

where do you go? the swing voters, the independent voters in florida typically live right here along the interstate 4 corridor. i4 starts in tampa, runs up through orlando and orange k-rbgts up to daytona beach and volusia county. that's where you will see paul ryan and mitt romney later at daytona beach, a county barack obama one by six points four years ago. it is the only public event that hrop mitt romney has on his schedule between now and monday night's debate that you'll see tonight in volusia county. the states in gray are the balanced ground states too close to call. but 29 electoral votes for either man to win florida it will push them a long way up to 270. florida, florida, florida as of today. back to you. martha: that is fascinating all the numbers and how they will add up. how about this question that will be on people's minds monday

night as well. what is the president's plan if he wins another term? he's been criticized for not laying it out clear lee. congressman paul ryan says he has not. >> even though the president won't tell us what his second term will look like we r-r know. he's promising a $2 trillion tax increase. martha: the other side says the romney folks haven't laid out the tax plan, you have that back and forth and the growing calls for both sides for the president to play out this is plan. we have a fair & balanced debate on that next. bill: a lot of tough talk on the trail about china could all the bashing hurt sales here in american business? we'll check it out. martha: it only took 10 bucks and a lotto ticket at this store to turn one man's life around from the streets to a warm home. >> i bought one $10 ticket and one 5 thror $5 ticket. i continue believe i won $200,000. ers. i plugged in snapshot, and 30 days later,

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martha: president obama under increasing pressure from both

republicans and some in his own party to spell out his agenda for the second term. gop vice the presidential nominee paul ryan suggesting the president has been vague on that matter and has no vision for the next four years. here he is firing up a crowd on that line of anything in florida. >> president obama has not even made his case for a second term. you've seen all these debates, he's not even telling americans what he's going to do to make things better. all he's offering is four more years like the last four years, more of the same. martha: juan williams is with us, fox news political analyst and mary katherine ham editor at largat large. is he right? has he failed in that regard. >> i don't think it's been satisfactory in my mind as a democratic voter. in charlotte he did layout

plans,er says specifically that he wants to boost the manufacturing sector. he said he wants to boost import -- exports i should say. so, manufacturing, exports. he wanted to do more in terms of reducing energy dependence, building on the record he has of cutting oil imports to the united states and he says he wanted to do lots with education, in specific building the number of teachers in the country and improving the skills of our young people so they can compete in the global economy. that was the a skwrepbd toda the agenda he set out for his second term. martha: very tough for people to open new manufacturing plants in this country, and a lot of incentive for them to do just that overseas. they have to deal with unions and a lot of issues with regard to getting the capital just to build the factories, mary kathrine. who is doing a better job in defining what that would take? >> i any paul ryan has a case to make here partly because it's not just him making it.

the national journal reported after the first debate that one of the reasons the president failed in that first debate is a posity of ideas of what he wanted to do in the future and that didn't hold up 90 minutes in a real debate with mitt romney face-to-face. not a lot has been asked of him on his plans. a lot has been asked of mitt romney, he gets details every day. i don't think the president gets those much, and he runs a challenger's campaign even though he's been the president at four years. mark hal principal of the "times" said where is the second term agenda. he said hey, it's been a rough four years. that is not a good line for an incumbent. romney thought he could run as the anti-obama, they added ryan to the ticket, adopted this large vision and got a lot of hard questions about it. obama has decided he's going to run as the anti-romney and i'm not sure that is a great up lifting sale in the last closing weeks of this election.

martha: it seems to me, juan, there has to come a moment in this debate on monday night where the president talks about his vision for the country, that he looks into the eyes of the camera and says, this is what we're about, because we are going to be talking foreign policy of course, this is who i see america being, if is our role in the world, why we're so strong. an american is exceptional-type argument. i don't know if that is in the dna if he really believes that, people have questioned. >> i don't believe there is necessity question he believes america is an exceptional place. there is a lot of rhetoric that attacks him on that that goes to he's a socialist and all the rest. martha: just for the record i just want to say is what i'm talking about is the issue that, you know, that america is sort of one among many in terms of leading in the world. >> i think that's the way he feels, martha, i mean that is my impression. i think the deep hypocrisy here is i think the president really did inherit a difficult situation, has been building on it and part of his vision for the future is building, moving forward on continuing to

generate jobs but at a higher level. the problem here is when you ask the republicans in the race, romney-ryan exactly how does your tax plan work, what is your vision for the future? you come up with an equally empty line of rhetoric. and i think that's what the american people are so disappointed with generally is when you look at the polls they say, you know what, we know about the problems of the past we want to hear from these guys what is to come, how do you plan to fix things? how can you make things better in a hurry. when you have a tax plan that says i'm going to cut taxes, i won't raise taxes on the middle class and i'll be able to hand ephandle the deficit people say, how can you do that. i think there is a lot on both sides you have to open your hearsay and be sensitive as to what these guys are lacking and what they are saying. martha: you mean like what they said about healthcare? mary kathrine we've got to go. thank you.

>> it's been four years is the problem. martha: juan, bye you guys. bill: there has been a new push to declare the fort hood attack a terrorist attack. those who are coming together to make that khaoeupbg. change. [ man ] ring ring... progresso

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bill: there is a key hearing today in the trayvon martin matter. zimmerman expected back in court this afternoon in that murder case as lawyers make their case to subpoena martin's school records and his social media records. phil keating is live at the courthouse in sanford, florida. george zimmerman expected to come out of hiding for this hearing. is that right, phil? >> reporter: that is the plan, bill according to zimmerman's legal team he will be in the courtroom for the scheduled 1:30 hearing and this will also give him his very first opportunity to face his new judge in person, and that is deborah nelson.

nelson will go through a list of attorney demands and requests, decide what is relevant for the pending june 10th second-degree murder trial of george zimmerman and what is simply and attorney fishing expedition. what zimmerman's attorneys are hoping to get access to includes trayvon martin's school record, his attendance record, his grades, and his history of suspensions, plus his social media accounts, and his cellphone records, of which the defense claims prosecutors have been unwilling or slow to share. prosecutors in the martin family say awful these requests are totally irrelevant to what happened the night of the murder, or the alleged murder, the shooting death of trayvon martin, and instead they want to see george zimmerman's medical records. >> we are demanding the release of george zimmerman's medical records, because they are far more relevant than trayvon martin's middle school and high school record. they go directly to his state of

mind when he pulled the trigger and took trayvon's life. >> reporter: reportedly george zimmerman at the time of the late february shooting in that gated community where he lived, he was on three prescription drugs, which reportedly can cause aggression and hostility those drugs include res resterol. there are efforts to suppress all future subpoenas, not make them club as to what attorneys from both sides are hoping to gain access to, and the media will have several attorneys here for a group of media organizations trying to make sure everything remains in the public view. also, being requested by zimmerman's attorney will be the full access and details as to who interviewed this witness number eight, that is believed to be the 16-year-old friend or girlfriend of trayvon martin who

reportedly was on the cellphone with him when zimmerman and martin had their very first initial verbal even counter which of course led to violence. bill: phil keating is wavin watching that trial in florida. martha: there are new questions this morning about the u.s. consulate attack in libya. what sources are telling fox news suggest that the attack was part of a broader campaign to drive the u.s. out of eastern libya. bill: also a 12-year-old girl fighting back after a break in at her home, what she did that sent the bad guys running. >> she did everything she was supposed to do, and more, and we are absolutely so thankful that she is fine and i admire the little girl a lot. for 30 some years at many

different park service units across the united states. the only time i've ever had a break is when i was on maternity leave. i have retired from doing this one thing that i loved. now, i'm going to be able to have the time to explore something different. it's like another chapter.

bill: so this is fox news alert and there are major developments out of libya where two military sources saying that last month's attack might have been part of a broader effort to drive the u.s. out of eastern libya. jonah goldberg editor at large for national review fox news contributor here to react to all this. good morning to you. catherine herridge is reporting this. what do you make of that? >> it doesn't surprise me that much. we knew that there were a lot of bad actors in libya that were flying into libya to provide more foreign fighters in theee evacuate war than almost any other country. there are a lot of bad guys

there. it flies in the face of the party line that we got particularly in earnest after the democratic convention that al-qaida and al-qaida-related groups are on their heels, they are fading away. the implication was was that the war on terror is sort of over and it's just a cleanup operation and i don't think that is the actual reality of things. bill: yo it's kind of a nice election story. >> it's a nice thing to tell people. it's what colored the white house response to the benghazi attacks. after all these attacks what they want to do is isolate the event make it sound like it's not part of a larger pattern. they don't want to connect any dotts. maybe if the facts come out later i saying it was a terrorist attack the uproar dies down. i didn't know until i watched your show this morning that we still haven't declared the fort hood attack a terrorist attack. bill: a workplace shooting.

back to libya. there were reports of violence there, if you knew about that you should have boosted security, right? >> nobody answered that well in the debate. why weren't they prepared for this? i think that the answer lies somewhere in the realm of between ideology and incompetent and politics. they want that storyline about no terror. we saw in the testimony before congress that they really want to move this to a less dramatic footing, make it seem as this things had calmed down, which is a political imperative that should not override what the security imperatives are. i don't think there is any good argument for why they weren't better prepared? i don't even really understand why stevens was at that poorly guarded compound on 9/11? bill: there are a lot of blanks to be filled in here. here is the question from that voter the other night, the debate you just mentioned. who was it who denied enhanced security in libya and why.

and that question has not been answered. i bet you a buck it comes up monday night. >> i think that question, and who was it who actually said, blame the video. let's stick with blaming the video. those are the two questions there at heart of this controversy. one goes to the actual terrorist attack and the other one goes to what looks like a cover up. if you can get a clear answer on those almost everything else will fall into place. bill: this is what was said last night in mart on jon stewart's show. president obama said every piece of information that we got, as we got it, we laid it out for the american people, laid it out to the american peep. ca people. can you argue against that? >> it's difficult for me to see it as anything but let's say and even truth. barack obama he used this passive phrase about terrorist attacks that he wants to claim he used to describe the libya attack, then for the next week we saw the secretary -- the ambassador to the u.n., the white house press secretary jay

carney saying fairly unequivocally that this wasn't terrorism, this was about a video, and we know now that the intelligence internal to the administration said that that simply wasn't true, and they stayed on that. susan rice could have said, we have conflicting reports, and one possibility it was the video, another possibility a terrorist attack, she didn't do that. she ruled out effectively a terrorist attack. bill: come back to one of the points you made. i don't mean to cut you off here. this could be important. perhaps the white house internally is trying not to give al-qaida credit, or al-qaida-linked group credits and that's why they stay away from that. is that an acceptable explanation? do you understand the logic or rational. >> it's a politically scandalous explanation i. think a lot of people, including conservatives, liberals and independents are really tired of the war on terror. you can get to a situation, if all you have is a hammer every problem looks like a nail.

if you really, really want this thing to be over you're going to constant low look for evidence that it is particularly when it's to your political advantage. the modus operandi for this administration has been to spin every terrorist attack as if it were a isolated incident. a lone gunman. it's like musical chairs the music stops right before the election when they tried this tactic one time too many and it didn't workout. bill: i urge you to check out the show later tonight. special report investigates death and deceit in benghazi. it heirs at 10:00 eastern time. you can watch it and make up your own minds in prime-time. joan a thank you. martha: this morning there is new fallout for the pharmacy tied to the deadly meningitis outbreak. a new lawsuit is targeting its personal out sets. the new england compounding center was found responsible for the tainted steroid injections

that have so far killed 20 people several states and affected others. a lot of patients on their families have already filed legal claims against this company, right? >> that's right. many of the people who did get injections and did get sick were already retaining attorney against new england compounding center. what we did learn today is that reports indicate there is a legal move this morning to go off the personal assetts of any cc's corporate officers. raoult ters is reporting that a civil case has been filed in massachusetts which would seek damages from the personal property of those who ran the company. this as the infection continues to spread across 16 states and we know there are more than 250 case, martha. martha: there's the legal side of it. what about the latest of diagnosing these cases and the treatment of them? >> doctors say that they are not planning on treating people preventative lee, that's because basically the consensus within the medical community is that

preemptive treatment could do more harm than do. most pantsess exposed to these potentially tainted meds are not getting sick and the antifungal treatments require very long hospital stays because the drugs come with their own which is beings and toxic side effects. >> we'd have to follow those patients question, question carefully and perhaps in treating people who don't need to have this preventative kind of treatment, we would injure their liver and kidneys. >> martha, most patients are told to wait and see if any of the symptoms do develop. martha: it has to be neve nerve-racking. thank you very much. bill: new home sales, the number of new home sales were down in september. they were up 11% compared to last year. 1.7 down last month. they are still well below the number economists consider housing for the housing market. that number is just crossing right now. you can chew on that over the weekend, if you'd like. martha: according to the

government the fort hood shooting was an act of work-place violence, but those who lost loved ones that day say they believe from the evidence that unraveled that it was indeed a terror attack. we'll take a look at their passionate plea and why the government is so far refusing to call it that. >> he had -- he yelled "allahu akbar!" he wanted to be a terrorist. that's what he was. he sold all his stuff knowing he was going to die that day. [ male announcer ] there are only so many foods that make kids happy. and even fewer that make moms happy too. with wholesome noodles and bite sized chicken, nothing brings you together like chicken noodle soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

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but $20. >> the odds of winning the top jackpot 1 in 140,000. that man did. martha: happy guy. all right. this story we mentioned to you a moment ago. survivors of the fort hood shooting recounting the horror of that awful day. they are joining now with families of those who were killed in a video that asks the obama administration to declare that rampage a terror attack. the government classified it as work-place violence, and that means that the survivors are ineligible for the purple heart, and the families of those who lost their lives are not receiving the same benefits of those who are killed in combat. watch some of this. >> the army knew he was in contact. the f.b.i. knew he was in contact all the way from 2005 up to the shooting. he had email messages, and conversations. they knew he was in contact with them and they did nothing. martha: the him she refers to is

anwar al-awlaki later killed in a drone strike but was central to many drone attraction. joined now by peter brooks. and wally farris who is a fox news middle east and terrorism analyst. let me begin with you. why should this shooting be classified as a terror attack? >> absolutely. first of all, as the lady was saying in the report, there is a direct link. email link between the perpetrator, major hasan, and anwar al-awlaki a senior official of al-qaida, that alone is determining that this is a terrorist action. two, the fact that the narrative of major hasan for many years he has been talking about jihad and the targeting of the enemies of his own ideology, and third the pattern. this is not happening alone. there were shootings in arkansas and killing of a u.s. military. attempts to attack military bases at for the dix and

others. the administration should have day one declared it as an act of terror. martha: peter, i should mention one of the things holding up the trial right now is his lawyers are arguing he shouldn't have to shave off the beard he grew while he was in jail. this is the kind of consideration that's been given to hasan at this moment as these families wait for some justice in all of this. why do you think that they would be so determined to leave this as a work-place violence story, given the evidence that shows that he clearly had terrorist intentions? >> it's a clear case in my mind, martha, of political correctness. if you go to the department of defense report on this terrible tragedy in texas, they don't mention the hasan's religion or his motivations. this is part of their narrative of being tough on terrorism, and they have been in some ways they've done a good job on terrorism, drone strikes and other things, but they just did not want to admit this was a terror attack, it's a pattern in

my view with libya, what happened in little rock. whled referred to this, the same year a terrorist who was trained in yemen claimed he wanted to avenge, or take revenge against u.s. soldiers, killed one army recruiter in lock little rock arkansas and they said it was a drive by shooting. martha: we talked to mike huck k huckabee and he says mitt romney should bring that up in terms of how the president approaches these things. if you deem this a terrorist attack then you are also in many ways accepting responsibility for missing all the signs along the way. >> absolutely. i mean i just spoke about the fact that the obama administration is not just missing on this one, it's missing on the whole map. we have had over the past three to four years, i'd say even five

years, you know, dozens of attempts by jihaddists, lone wolves or connect, two of those were bloody, the texas one, and the arkansas one. what the administration is trying to do is to say that war and terror is over, al-qaida is on decline. if they recognize that these are terrorist activities and connected somehow to al-qaida this would be politically, you know, costly for them and that is precisely the reason for why they are not admitting it. martha: from a military perspective, peter, what about the claim from these families that they want the survivors to be eligible for purple hearts, that they believe that day they did find themselves in combat? >> i don't know the legal side of it, martha, i'm not a lawyer, but as a veteran myself, i certainly sympathize and empathize with them and at a a basic human hr*efl i agree with them. level i agree with them. this was a terrorist attack and

i personally believe they deserve the benefits that are coming to them. martha: we have to deal with the issue of the beard and whether or not it can be shaved or should be shaved which it's sure is very frustrating for the survivors of the victims. thank you very much, always good to see you, gentlemen. bill: jon scott follows up on "happening now" on a friday. good morning. jon: good morning to you bill. remember vice president biden essentially throwing the intel community under the bus regarding what the administration knew about libya or was told? now new reports say the cia was warning of terror troubles there. we'll talk about a former cia operative. who is responsible for what happened in benghazi. in the face of new political polls and after the second presidential debate who won the week, bob beckel with his thoughts on that. and ben stein stops by to answer the question, have we learned anything since the stock market crash of 1987? that, plus our news watch panel all coming up on "happening now" in 12 minutes.

bill: good, jon. we'll see you then. presidential candidates are talking tough about beijing, china what they are saying and how that might affect american companies? hum. >> with great hope i thank all the people throughout america who have given us this great victory. [ music playing, children laughing ] [ slap! slap! slap! ] [ music, laughter stop ] [ male announcer ] when your favorite foods fight you, fight back fast with tums smoothies. so fast and smooth, you'll forget you had heartburn. ♪ tum tum tum tum tums [ male announcer ] tums smoothies. it's a new way to get cash back deals, and it's called bankamerideals!

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martha: a brave 12-year-old girl in oklahoma protecting her home by shooting an intruder. she was home alone when 32-year-old stacey jones kicked in the back door. she called her mother who told her to grab the family's gun and hide. police say she hid in a closet and pulled the trigger when jones tried to open the door. by the time her mother returned jones was in handcuffs. well done.

>> she's amazing. i think she is -- i think she is incredible and i just haven't been able to stop hugging her and kissing her and telling her how much i love her. martha: she is so happy she is okay. jones was airlifted to a hospital. police are not saying how seriously he was injured. he was arrested last year for an alleged abduction. bill: both candidates are ramping up the rhetoric, the tough talk on a, this as u.s. business are becoming more and more depend and the on selling goods in that country. what will all the tough talk do to the u.s. economy. dan springer is on that live in seattle. what is the possible downside here, dan. >> reporter: the big one is lost sales in this country. the growing middle class in china has become an important market for many thousands of u.s. companies. take boeing as more people fly the country needs to ramp up its fleet by trip link its numbers up to 5,000 new planes needed in the next two decades, that is worth $670 billion.

a study finds 40% of all jobs in washington state are tied to exports and china is now the largest customer. it's not on the west coast. all but two states have seen exports to china triple since 2000. when the presidential candidates call china a trade cheater there are fears of a trade war that would keep our products out. >> to have this red rick that is really talking about china is bad, we want to be punitive against china yes i think that plays well on the campaign trail but in the long term that would really hurt our economic relationship. >> reporter: a few studies suggest it already has. a finding in 2010, 68% of the people in china view the relationship with the u.s. cooperative. now it's down to 39% with a quarter describing it as, quote, hostile. bill. bill: who is ooh porting all the tough talk on china? >> reporter: well, organized labor is right up there. unions have been calling for sanctions against u.s. companies that send jobs to china that's

what you hear from president obama on the stump. governor romney wants to declare china a currency manipulator which would allow tar rivetses on owl imports. >> the outsourcing issue is huge. we've lost 50,000 manufacturing factories and plants over the last decade. that is about 6 million manufacturing jobs. >> reporter: and where are you hearing? the most in the campaign trail? in places like ohio which has lost a coul a lot of jobs in manufacturing to china. bill: thank you. martha: secretary of state hillary clinton says stop the whining. but she might be surprised who she is talking to, and how they feel about what she is saying. we'll be back. bob...

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ansar al sharia. bill: make sure you get a lot of sleep this weekend because monday is going to be another

rock-em-sock-em day. martha: we have another 18 days, there will be a lot to talk about. bill: chris wallace is happy they will be seated this time so they can't circle each other like sharks. martha: we are happy to see you . "happening now" starts right lieu. thanks for being with us. have a good one. jon: brand-new stories. jenna: brand-new reports the cia chief in libya told washington within 24 hours that the deadly attack on our consulate was done by militants not an angry mob. why the white house handled the aftermath the way it did. the candidates gearing up for the third and final debate, foreign policy is the hot topic. this is their final push in key swing states and with a key voting block. young and full of life, that's how the husband of a missing coffee shop barrista, the woman you see on your screen describes his wife. the very latest on the desperate